Keys, Kids, Knowledge
by moonswirl
Summary: Gleekathon, day one hundred and thirty-eight: ABCs #11 Emma may not be able to keep practicing piano with Will, but there are others...


_Started my daily ficlets to make the hiatus pass, then decided to keep going with a second cycle, and then a third, fourth, and fifty cycle. Now here's cycle 6!_

_Walking through a bookstore back in december, I saw the series of books by Sue Grafton that go "A is for...," "B is for...," etc, and I got the idea for this set. It will spread over the end of cycle 6, and carry through cycles 7 and 8, to be posted on alternating days. [And by the time we reach the end, Glee will be a week away!!] What I did is I found three words for each letter that would have some significance to Glee, and I built a plot around it. You with me? Okay, here we go...  
**11 of 26: K is for...**_

* * *

**"Keys, Kids, Knowledge"  
Emma & Kurt; Will/Emma-esque  
Sequel to "No Solitaire"**

It was just a really good thing someone had brought into her life, and now she just could not let it go. It was Will who had done this for her… no surprise. He hadn't meant to, she guessed, but then he just never stopped being there, giving that little push someone needed to achieve something that would change them forever.

Sitting in the auditorium together, at the piano, they had shared something. But just as much as that was, they could only hold on to it for so long before reality forced them to let go.

As they'd left that moment behind, part of it stayed with her. Will had offered to give her lessons, so she could get back what she'd lost over the years. But she'd turned him down… they both knew it would be better that way, even though that wasn't what they had wanted.

In the days that had followed, her fingers seemed to still rest over ghost keys. And whenever she thought about the piano, she thought about… her and Will, in the auditorium… They couldn't share that moment for more than what they'd had, she knew it, he knew it… but maybe she couldn't let go of all of it, and shouldn't. If she could do what he wanted to see her do, then that moment could stay locked in her heart and in her fingers.

How was she going to do it though, that remained a question she had to manage to answer. She didn't want some teacher who wouldn't understand why she might be doing this. And then at the same time, she did want to keep this to herself as much as possible. As it would turn out, she'd find her teacher without having sought him out.

She had decided that day that she should test out her skills on her own, without Will, or this eventual teacher she'd have to find. There were two pianos at her disposal at McKinley High: One in the auditorium, the other in the rehearsal room. The auditorium would feel too big, too much for just her little self. So that only left one option, slightly complicated.

She trailed near the room, hearing from the hall how they were all still in there. She looked at her watch, knowing they should all be done soon. So she got to innocently reading papers and posters stuck to the walls around the door. When that door opened, she watched the kids go, greeted Will as he passed. He was in a hurry and had to go… just as well. As the exiting ended, she stepped up to enter the room… as it turned out, they weren't all gone.

"Kurt…" Emma blinked.

"Miss Pillsbury," he nodded. "Mr. Schuester just left," he indicated the door.

"I know, I-I mean… yes, thank you," she nodded. Silence set in; so did awkwardness. Emma wouldn't leave; she wanted the piano. But the fact that she wasn't leaving confused Kurt and he remained standing as he was.

"Do you need… something?" Kurt asked, adjusting his bag on his shoulder.

"N… no," Emma shook her head innocently. Kurt stared at her in suspicion. She was being evasive. "Well, let me see you out…" she started to move toward Kurt. Now he understood.

"You didn't come here for Mr. Schuester, did you?" he guessed. She hesitated. Finally, she sighed.

"I, uh… I wanted to use the piano."

"You play?" he asked, surprised.

"I, well… I used to, when I was younger… I've been wanting to start again." Kurt nodded, then moved to exit.

"It's all yours," he told her.

"Thank you, Kurt," she smiled as he headed out. Alone with the piano now, she moved to take a seat, shaking out her hand as she stared down to the keys. After a moment, she started playing, the song she'd been looking into.

"Your hands…" She jumped at the sound of the voice. She turned to find Kurt standing at the door. "You need to relax them, " he told her as he moved back into the room. Emma looked down to her hands, still on the keys.

"Okay…" she sat back facing the piano and slowly began to play again. As he listened, Kurt put his bag down and went to stand by the bench. He shook his head, moving to sit next to her.

"You're still thinking too hard. Just watch," he nodded, taking over playing as Emma took her hands away and watched and listened to Kurt play. She smiled.

"You're good," she commented.

"I started taking lessons when I was five. My mother played and I… I wanted to be like her…" He didn't explain any further, but Emma understood… his mother had died not long after.

"Well those lessons paid off," she nodded. He smiled, then stopped playing and looked to her.

"Try it again," he nodded. Emma nodded and began to play again. Kurt watched her the whole way, dropping little adjustments along the way. Emma nodded and did as told each time. After an hour of this, they paused.

"You're really good at this," Emma smiled to Kurt.

"It's come in handy now and then," he gave a smirk. "Why did you decide to start playing again?"

"I, uh… I guess it's thanks to… all of you kids in Glee, all this music… it made me think about all I had when I was a little girl, how much I loved to play." That was part of the answer. She couldn't tell him all of it, mostly the part about Will.

"Well you do have the talent, so good for you, not letting it go to waste," he nodded. She smiled. "Shall we? The big one this time?" She nodded. "You sing?" she nodded again. "No wonder Mr. Schuester trusts your judgment," he turned to the piano, not seeing the radiant smile on Emma's face, right before they both started playing, and she began to sing along.

_[E] "It's a little bit funny this feeling inside / I'm not one of those who can easily hide / I don't have much money, but boy, if I did / I'd buy a big house where we both could live_

_If I was a sculptor, but then again, no / Or a man who makes potions in a travelling show / I know it's not much but it's the best I can do / My gift is my song and this one is for you_

_And you can tell everybody this is your song / It may be quite simple, but now that it's done / I hope you don't mind, I hope you don't mind / That I put down in words / How wonderful life is while you're in the world"_

She'd steal little glances to Kurt now and then, to check how she was doing. He just nodded along, so she knew she was doing okay. She'd turn back to the piano, pleased with herself.

_[E] "I sat on the roof and kicked off the moss / Well a few of the verses well, they've got me quite cross / But the sun's been quite kind while I wrote this song / It's for people like you that keep it turned on_

_So excuse me forgetting but these things I do / You see I've forgotten if they're green or they're blue / Anyway, the thing is what I really mean / Yours are the sweetest eyes I've ever seen_

_And you can tell everybody this is the song / It may be quite simple, but now that it's done / I hope you don't mind, I hope you don't mind / That I put down in words / How wonderful life is while you're in the world_

_I hope you don't mind, I hope you don't mind / That I put down in words / How wonderful life is while you're in the world"_

As they finished, Kurt looked back at the guidance counsellor. "Not bad for an hour," he nodded. She smiled. "Imagine how much you'll do after a few more hours."

"Sorry?" she blinked, then looked to Kurt. After a moment, she understood. "Are you… offering to give me lessons?" He nodded. "Are you sure?" He nodded again.

"You and I both know our curly leader would do the same." She chuckled, gave him a nod… they were on.

THE END


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